Is there a good Pelikan FAQ anywhere? I recently acquired an M200 in black, and I fell in love with it. The piston filler is just wonderful, and the nib is smooth as silk. The only thing I don't like is the plastic feel and weight of the pen, so I was hoping to learn what each of the higher levels of pens were made of, and what kind of weight they had in the hand. I was hoping for something with a little more substance that wasn't.. plastic.

Thanks!

Look at the Pelikan site itself. Maybe also nibs.com etc. Try out an M800 or even better a Torpedo M900. That weighs a lot (due to the massive brass insides) and these are all really good pens (in my estimation).

Mike

Most of the Souveräns are made with cellulose acetate (M3xx, M4xx, M6xx, M8xx, M1xxx). The Traditions (M200, 205, 250) are made with resin, and the M215 is a metal body. There are some Limited and Special Editions that are made with different materials (the M640 which is a metal body, or the M700 & M900 Toledos w/ the metal overlay).

That's it for the piston fillers (as far as I know) - some of their other models are metal.

Another way to look at the materials can be summed up in this post: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...mp;p=205624

Thanks for the summary and the link. I'd love to be able to try one of the pens out before buying it, but there's no where around here that I know of where I can do that.

Now, to go look up cellulose acetate on wikipedia.

I noticed you list San Diego as your location. I have 3 Pelikans, and if you would like to examine them and try some writing I'm OK with that. My premier Pelikan is a Souvrain 1000. I also have a 400 and a 200.

Let me know if you would like to make arrangements. You can learn a lot more from holding the pen then looking up cellulose acetate in wikipedia.

Andy

I couldn't find this info in the English site but if you're interested in lengths (posted, capped), diameters and weights of 5 Ms, try this site on for size.

Cheers
Mike

Look up celluloid acetate on FPN as well - it's been discussed quite a lot.

CA is "plastic" but slightly heavier than the plastic used in the 200 line. It's got a warmer feel, a lovely look, and is very sturdy. The Cities & Places pens are also high quality plastic. You'll find that "plastic" in some form whether CA, "Precious resin" (Mont Blanc) or acrylic (numerous brands) is used in many nice FPs and how it is employed is what makes the difference. I find the Place and Cities series pens gorgeous and definitely not "cheap" looking or feeling.

Thank you everyone for the informative replies and kind offers.

I think I'm going to try to stop buying Snorkels ("Hi, I'm Reginleif and I'm a Snorkel addict." "Hi, Reginleif!") and demonstrators and save up for an M800. I haven't really read a bad thing about them. It will take time to determine whether I want new or vintage (vintage only as far as the difference between the silk screened cap and the engraved one), and what color I want.

Decisions, decisions.

Edit: I'm trying to convince myself I don't want to buy a Sahara and ink it. I am currently failing.

If you're looking for a less expensive option and the size of the M200 suits you, I also recommend the M215. It's the same size as the M200, but feels very different in my hand. With its metal barrel, it's heavier than the M200 and doesn't have the same plastic feel. Personally I prefer a feather-light pen like the M200 for my daily writing, but the M215 is a really nice pen, and feels pretty solid. It doesn't cost much more than the M200.